Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Viewpoint Discrimination and Selective Prosecution at Work in ChargesAgainst Independent Journalists

SANTA CRUZ, CA — District Attorney Bob Lee has embarked on a full frontalassault against independent media in Santa Cruz by including four regularcontributors to the independent news website Indybay.org amongst theeleven people charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors after theoccupation of a vacant bank building on November 30th, 2011. DistrictAttorney Lee apparently believes it is his duty to dictate how events suchas the occupation of the vacant bank at 75 River Street should be reportedon by the media, and if he does not approve of the coverage, thenjournalists risk the DA bringing charges against them.

Bradley Stuart Allen and Alex Darocy are Indybay photojournalists andIndybay editors who were reporting on the occupation. No charges norarrests were made at the time, but warrants were issued over two monthslater on February 8th, 2012 — for Bradley, Alex, and nine otherindividuals. Alex was arrested at his home before he could submit to thesurprise warrant. Bradley and Alex were originally charged with felonyvandalism, felony conspiracy, and two counts of misdemeanor trespass, butafter a three-day preliminary hearing starting March 13th the felonyvandalism charge against both was dropped. Alex and Bradley remain out ofpolice custody on their own recognizance.

Selective Prosecution

On the face of it, the misdemeanor trespass charges filed against bothAlex and Bradley for documenting the occupation from inside of thebuilding seem in line with a February 8th press release from the DA whichdeclared that the "District Attorney's Office remains committed toenforcing the law." But the DA fails to mention that his office is notcommitted to enforcing the law consistently and that the charges againstAlex and Bradley are clearly a case of selective prosecution. DistrictAttorney Lee knows full well that a staff photographer for the Santa CruzSentinel newspaper likewise shot photographs from inside of the occupiedbank building, yet Lee has chosen not to file any charges against him. Whywould a District Attorney pursue such a selective prosecution?

Viewpoint Discrimination

Upon reading court filings and hearing statements made by the DistrictAttorney during the preliminary hearing for Bradley and Alex, it isapparent that District Attorney Lee believes he is entitled to dictate theterms of media coverage in Santa Cruz County. In a brief filed prior tothe preliminary hearing, DAs Lee and Rebekah Young wrote this about Alex'sand Bradley's coverage of the occupation: "Their postings contain nointerviews (or even attempted interviews) with representatives from thepolice, with the property owners, or with members of the community whomight not have been in favor of the group's conduct." This is clearlyviewpoint discrimination on the part of the District Attorney. Accordingto Bob Lee's logic, if journalists do not interview police for a story,then somehow those journalists' rights and privileges as members of themedia no longer matter.

Conspiracy to Make Media

As for the most serious remaining charge, felony conspiracy, DistrictAttorney Lee has offered absolutely no supporting evidence of a criminalcollusion. The DA has not argued that Alex and Bradley had prior knowledgethat the building would be occupied. The DA simply asserts that the mereact of newsgathering at an announced demonstration, which turned into anunannounced building occupation, constitutes felony conspiracy to promotetrespass and vandalism. In the same preliminary hearing supplemental briefreferenced above, the DA wrote: "The defendants' presence and postings...aided and abetted the organization's occupation of the property." Fromthis, District Attorney Lee takes another leap by claiming that Bradleyand Alex "effectively serv[ed] as the media arm of the organization; thegroup's propagandists." The "conspiracy" is nothing more than reporting ona newsworthy event.

Ben Rice, who is representing Bradley, states, "As the control of 'news'is increasingly controlled by the '1 percent' we have to stop thegovernment from deciding who or what sources may lawfully providealternate sides to important stories. At Bradley's preliminary hearing, wepresented evidence from expert witnesses that Indymedia and Bradley arelegitimate news sources. We provided evidence that Bradley has been usinghis skill as a photojournalist for ten years to examine many of ourworld's most perplexing social problems. Bradley's focus on those issuesis particularly important because so many of them are ignored bymainstream media. The judge's determination to keep the conspiracy chargealive should give all journalists pause."

Free Alex and Bradley! Independent Media Is Not a Crime!

The National Press Photographers Association (NPAA) and The ReportersCommittee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) wrote a Letter Brief addressedto the court seeking dismissal of charges. In a related joint pressrelease, the NPAA and RCFP wrote: "This is just the most recent case wherejournalists have been interfered with and arrested while covering OccupyWall Street protests throughout the country. In almost every case, thosecharges — ranging from disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmentaladministration to trespass — have been dismissed or the defendantjournalists have been acquitted." So why is Bob Lee pursuing thesecharges, at taxpayer expense, unless to unfairly promote one journalisticviewpoint over another by deterring independent journalists from closelyreporting on social justice movements as they happen.

Santa Cruz Indymedia has been the Independent Media Center (IMC) for theMonterey Bay Area since 2001. In 2006, Santa Cruz IMC became regionallyintegrated with Indybay.org, the website of the San Francisco Bay AreaIMC, itself online since 2000. Together these Northern California IMCs area non-commercial, democratic collective of independent media makers andmedia outlets serving as the local organizing unit of the global Indymedianetwork.

Break the Chains.info

is a news and discussion forum for supporters of political prisoners, prisoners of war, politicized social prisoners, and victims of police and state intimidation.

This blog is organized and updated autonomously of the disbanded Break the Chains Prisoner Support Network formerly based in Eugene, Oregon. While this online project shares several of the same concerns as the old Break the Chains collective, no formal organization exists behind the current web presence.

"I will never surrender my pride and dignity nor allow the system to 'cut my tongue' and I will always, without fear, speak out against these war crimes and crimes against humanity, no matter if I spend the rest of my life in a prison cage, and draw my last breath of air laying down in this steel bed surrounded by razor-wire fences and cages, and its prison policies that are designed to destroy one's humanity…."